


a family affair

by historiologies



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band), SEVENTEEN (Band), Super Junior
Genre: Gen, High School AU, the wonseulhae siblings fic of mine and katsu's dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 23:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12641076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historiologies/pseuds/historiologies
Summary: Wonwoo's having love life issues, so his siblings try to help him out.





	a family affair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nikospyrr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikospyrr/gifts).



> This is a completely self-indulgent little drabble monster, but it's for one of my favorite people so it needed elaboration. Happy birthday to my little bowl of Japanese goodness, my aegi aegi, my little muffin of talent and goodness. I love you so much, I'm so happy I managed to finish this on time (ish) and give it to you because I really wanted this to exist for you. Hopefully you like it, hopefully it makes you smile and hopefully the three of them share the same frame sometime soon so that we can combust and die from sheer love together. This was so much fun to write and I hope we can explore the same kind of universe like this together soon!!
> 
> To everyone else, yes, this is a fic where Wonwoo, Seulgi and Donghae are siblings. Their different last names are explained in the fic, and I'm kind of proud of how I managed to rationalize this clearly self-indulgent exercise of mine. I enjoyed writing Seulgi and Donghae so much and I really love them as people too, so. Fun all around.
> 
> Please support both SVT and Suju's comebacks, which happen to fall on the best day of all. #HappyKatsuDay !!!!

“I hate everything.”

Seulgi doesn’t even look up when the door to her room bursts open and her younger brother makes that proclamation immediately upon crossing the threshold; she merely resumes painting on another layer of cherry red to her left ring finger.

She lets out a little sniffle of annoyance, however, when he flops dramatically onto the bed next to her. “Your drama club experience is really showing, Wonwoo,” she deadpans, quirking her mouth at the little bubble his disturbance of her equilibrium caused.

“My life is over.”

“Yeah, yeah, you said that,” Seulgi retorts, but she sighs and puts the polish brush back into the bottle before she screws the cap on tight again. She supposes her pinky and the assignments from her freshman classes could wait while she figured out the source of her brother’s theatrics. She lies down and rolls over until she’s next to him.

“Anything wrong, bro?” she asks. She tries to sound nonchalant but worry tinges her tone anyway.

“Yes,” Wonwoo says. “I asked Soonyoung to go to the movies with me.”

“And?”

“He said yes.”

Seulgi’s heart beats faster with excitement and she smiles widely. “Really?” she squeals, and she sits up, shaking him. He groans miserably as she drags him into a sitting position, a frown marring his face. “Why are you so glum? You’ve been crushing on him since middle school.”

Wonwoo looks up at her with dead eyes. “He said sure, and promptly invited his boyfriend Matt to go with us.”

Seulgi gasps almost comically (apparently it runs in the family). “Matt?”

Wonwoo shrugs. “Some guy he met over the summer.” He leans forward until his head is cradled by the pillow on Seulgi’s lap. She pats him on the head, making sympathetic noises.

“Don’t worry, they’re just dating. He’ll come around sooner or later,” she says, trying to sound reassuring. Seulgi can’t help but feel a little heartbroken on behalf of her brother. She knows just how much he likes Soonyoung, but he insists on pulling pranks on the other despite the fond looks Soonyoung kept shooting at him. She always told him to just ask him out but it looked like he was too late, which sucked all around because she liked Soonyoung - he was part of the dance club when she was still in the same high school as Wonwoo. She liked him for Wonwoo and always thought that it was mutual.

“What if they end up getting married with two dogs and a manicured front lawn?”

“Then I guess we’ll secretly hate them forever.”

There was a beat or two of silence. “Matt is a sucky name.”

“Ugh, the suckiest.” Seulgi smiles down at the lump of lanky teenage boy on her bed.

He’ll be okay. Eventually.

***

Seulgi loves visiting her old high school. It’s been barely a semester and two months since she’s graduated, but she still remembers what it’s like to bound up the brick steps and barrel through the corridors, calling out a quick goodbye to Wonwoo as he shoots off towards his classroom and she weaves in and out through people to make it into her homeroom before the second bell.

She tucks her hair behind her ear as she loiters around the front lawn, ending up leaning against the stairs. Scheduling most of her classes in the morning left her with very free afternoons, and although she spent most of her time in the dance society’s org room, she decided that today was a special siblings day.

She swings her keys around on her finger lazily while waiting for Wonwoo to emerge from the depths of high school hell, which he does eventually, after about ten minutes. His eyes widen and narrow, in surprise and then in suspicion.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hey Seulgi,” says another voice behind Wonwoo and Seulgi sees a bright head of orange peek out from behind her brother. She knows she said she’s supposed to be mad at him, but she can’t help but smile and tilt her head at the person.

“Hey Soonyoung!”

“Are you dropping by practice today?”

She shakes her head. She really should next time. “Not today. I’m just here to pick up Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo raises an eyebrow. “Are you now?”

Soonyoung shrugs, nudges Wonwoo with his shoulder. “I’ll, uh, see you later?”

Wonwoo turns to him, eyes softening. “Oh, uh, okay. Yeah. Cool.” Seulgi watches their eyes go all fidgety and awkward, turning bright and fond every time they land on each other when the other’s not looking. She crosses her arms. It’s enough to make her go mad. Her plan is definitely necessary.

She hooks an arm around her much taller brother’s elbow, marches him to where she parked her car in the school lot.

“Where are we even going?” Wonwoo grouses, trying not to trip on his overly large feet and spindly legs.

“You’ll see.”

***

As Wonwoo is too busy being a teenager and typing into his phone, he only realizes where they’re heading when they’re about five minutes away.

“Huh?” Wonwoo says, a confused look on his face. “Why are we heading here?”

“Because you have stupid boy problems and will need the advice of an equally stupid boy. I’m too evolved for this.”

Wonwoo glares at her. “There is no _problem_. Soonyoung’s dating someone else and not me. I’m too late.” He drops his phone in his lap and glowers menacingly out of Seulgi’s window.

“Acknowledging your problem is the first step, Nonners,” she coos, crinkling her nose at her childish pet name for her baby brother.

“What’s the next step then?”

She rejoices internally when she spots the open parking slot in front of the cozy little coffee shop. The neat cursive words spelling out the name of the shop glow brightly in the late afternoon sun, and the quaint sidewalk with the little boutique stores and restaurants is only starting to gather a crowd. She shifts gears to parallel park between a familiar black sedan and a slightly dirt-crusted Jeep. You get all kinds in a university town, to be honest.

“The next step,” Seulgi continues, twisting her wrist to release the keys and let the car purr into silence, “Is clearly a Haru and One Day tiramisu special.”

***

The chimes above the door jingle softly when Seulgi pushes it open. The cafe is quiet; only about two or three tables have occupants. This makes it easier for Seulgi not to be ashamed to tug Wonwoo forward so that they can sprawl over the counter space in front of the muffins together.

“Feed us hungry urchins,” Seulgi insists, head laying down on the clean white ceramic, elbow digging into Wonwoo’s side to play along.

Wonwoo eyes her with exasperation, before sliding into the seat next to her and perching his chin on his knuckles. “Hi bro.”

“What are you two doing here?” the person at the register says, amused. He tosses back his silvery hair— a new look on him that Seulgi really thinks looks more sleazy than suave— as he pushes a cup into a complex-looking machine. Immediately, the smell of newly brewed coffee fills the air, and both siblings inhale deeply.

“Donghae,” Seulgi says. “Your little brother is in need of advice, man to man.”

Donghae raises an eyebrow. “What kind of advice?”

“Love advice.” Seulgi plucks up a muffin that’s on display, avoiding Donghae’s little slap on the wrist. “Thanks for the free muffin, bro.”

“Stop stealing my wares,” Donghae scolds her lightly, but he hands her a tissue instead of taking the muffin away from her. “Your regular booth at the back is free. I’ll just tell Kate to take over while I’m babysitting.”

“Babysitting,” Wonwoo scowls. “I’m not a baby.”

Donghae smiles indulgently, ruffling his hair. Wonwoo makes a noise of protest. “Sure you aren’t, kid.”

They make their way to the back, Wonwoo sulking and Seulgi bright as a button. Wonwoo perks up a little when Donghae arrives after a few minutes, sliding a plate of the specialty tiramisu and three forks in front of them. “Perks of being related to the owner,” he jokes, smiling proudly at his little self-jab.

Seulgi and Wonwoo give him withering glances.

“What? It’s funny?”

“It’s not even a joke,” Seulgi protests, but she laughs all the same at Donghae’s faux wounded expression. The thing is, their whole family situation was truly laughable. It’s a testament to their mom’s determination that they all grew up close, even though Donghae’s almost ten years older than Wonwoo and they all bore different last names. Their mom had Donghae straight out of high school with her boyfriend, who promptly checked went back to Korea for obligatory military service and dumped her at the same time. With the help of her parents, their truly awesome grandparents, they all helped out in raising Donghae until her mom went through college, became a nurse, and struck out on her own as a single mom. Seulgi’s dad was a frequent visitor at the clinic where their mom worked; he was a dancer, and was always getting scrapes that needed patching up. Eventually they started dating and they ended up getting married, raising Donghae and having Seulgi a few years into their marriage. Tragedy struck and Seulgi lost her dad when she was barely a year old, a stupid car accident that left all of them reeling.

It took awhile for their mom to get over the incident but recover from it she did, with the help of one of her dearest friends, a sweet mild-mannered professor at the local university who eventually asked for her to marry him and let him help her raise her brave little makeshift family. To them, Professor Jeon was dad, the only dad Seulgi remembered, the only dad Wonwoo had ever known. For Donghae, it took him longer to get over the death of Seulgi’s dad, as he was old enough to remember him from the time he first took him and his mom out to dinner, but eventually he grew up to accept him and another little sibling into his life. He was almost ten when Wonwoo was born, but he took to protecting him and Seulgi for as long as he could— only stopping when he moved out of the house after getting his business degree at university. 

After several business endeavours gone awry, he went into the cafe business and put up Haru & One Day, an homage to their Korean roots and one of his everlasting pleasures, and one that he shared with all his siblings: coffee.

Donghae’s almost 27 now, but he’s still their best big brother and having witnessed the highs and lows of his illustrious love life, Seulgi knows that if anyone can say the right thing to Wonwoo, it’s Hae.

“What’s the matter?” Donghae says kindly, scooping up and biting into the tiramisu.

“It’s nothing,” Wonwoo says, before exhaling. “It’s Soonyoung.”

Donghae’s ears perk up at the name. “Oh hey. Did you tell him?”

“No,” Wonwoo pouts and slides his head into his crossed arms over the table. “I was going to but he’s dating someone else now. Matt.”

“Matt?” Donghae repeats, his eyebrows knotting together. “Who is _that_?”

“I know, right?” Seulgi echoes, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wonwoo’s mouth twitches, the indignation of his siblings helping improve his mood. “Some guy he met at dance camp over the summer.”

Seulgi pulls up her phone and turns on the Instagram app. “I’m on it,” she announces, already tapping into her contacts at Camp Jazz Hands.

“I bet he’s cute,” Wonwoo grouses. “I bet he’s perfect and blonde and tall and—”

“Hey, hey,” Donghae interrupts. “You’re tall!”

Wonwoo groans. “I was too slow. I should have told him before he left for camp and now it’s too late.”

“Well,” Seulgi says after a brief silence. “He doesn’t look _that_ tall.”

Donghae leans over to look at her phone over her shoulder, squints a little at the screen. Terrible eyesight was a family trait. “You’re much better-looking, Won. Definitely,” Donghae says, assuringly.

Wonwoo sighs and lets a hand flop on the table. “Hand it over.”

Seulgi purses her lips and slides her phone into his open palm. She winces when he peeks at the screen, his forehead falling forward onto the table with a dull thud.

“Like I said. He’s probably tiny,” Seulgi says.

“Well that’s one takeaway we’re getting from this,” Wonwoo grouses. “Aside from the perfect smile and the abs for days and the tousled sun-kissed blonde hair. My hair _never_ looked that good, even after you pulled me into the salon with you. And did you really have to show me a beach picture? A _beach_ picture. Really?”

“Wonwoo,” Seulgi says, rubbing the top of his head like a sad little kitten. “He’ll come to his senses. He’s liked you for so long. _So_ long now. And I know it’s still there, I could tell just by being with both of you for two minutes!”

A sad-looking eye peeks out from the mess of black hair that had fallen forward. “Really?”

Seulgi nods enthusiastically, then looks at Donghae to back her up.

Donghae sighs. “Look, all I can tell you is that… relationships like yours with Soonyoung, they’re special. They’re not everyday. I mean. They really are. And even with all the ups and downs, you’ll pull through. I know it.”

Wonwoo sighs, lays his head on his outstretched bicep (whatever there was of it). “Is Kyu doing okay?”

Donghae laughs, leans back. “He’s fine. He’s touring most months of the year but I know he’ll always come home to me. You and Soonyoung… you’re home for each other.”

Wonwoo looks at both of them. “So I should just… wait this out?”

“I think,” Seulgi muses. “That maybe things will look up sooner than you expect.” She doesn’t mention that after perusing Matt’s Instagram story, she had come to the conclusion that he was dating someone new, a cute black guy named Frankie, who had just posted cute kissy emojis on the picture Matt had posted two hours ago, and Matt had replied to him in a similar manner.

“And also,” she continues, as the door chimes again. “I think that if the opportunity presented itself, you should take it and run.” 

Donghae looks up, gives a small wave and a smile. “Hey Soonyoung. It’s been awhile.”

Wonwoo’s head snaps up. “You didn’t, Seul.”

Seulgi shrugs. “I mean, I just told him we were here. I didn’t tell him to ditch dance club practice for you.” She lays her head on Donghae’s shoulder, smile impish and excited. “That was all him.”

Wonwoo looks terrified, and he hasn’t even looked over his shoulder yet at the antsy-looking nervous teenager standing with his hands shoved into his pockets, trying to distract himself by staring at the sweets in the window display.

Donghae taps his foot against his ankle and smiles encouragingly. “Go for it, bud.” Seulgi raises a fist in solidarity.

With a sigh, Wonwoo slides out of the booth and makes his way over to the other boy, who looks terrified but determined. Donghae and Seulgi watch as Soonyoung slides one hand out of his hoodie pocket to reach out, and Wonwoo takes the hand subconsciously, not even noticing what he’s doing. They head over to one of the other booths nearer the front, Soonyoung plopping down into the seat next to Wonwoo.

“What did you tell him?” Donghae asks, curious. He’s about to slide out himself, to get back to work.

Seulgi blinks innocently. “I didn’t say anything. I just texted him to ask if it’s true that he’s going out with Matt, a ‘friend’ from dance, and he said ‘not anymore’ and I said ‘oh, because Wonwoo said so’ and he was like ‘oh’ and then I just said ‘you know we’re almost done here, you could both still go to the movies like you planned’ and I think he got it from there.”

Donghae throws his head back and laughs, his grin pleased and almost wolfishly charming. “You’re a devious one, Ms. Kang.”

“I learned from the best, Mr. Lee,” Seulgi retorts, sticking out her tongue. She sighs, waves at the two boys as they leave the shop, presumably towards the nearby cineplex. She catches Wonwoo’s expression before they do, and he glares at her, but the smile he’s trying to clamp his lips down on betray his delight.

“I hope Mr. Jeon finds his nerve,” she muses. Donghae looks up and watches the two boys go, smiling fondly, almost like he’s remembering something.

“Of course he will,” he says. He looks over his shoulder, grins. “He’s our brother, isn’t he?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on twitter @allthatconfetti :)


End file.
